The inventive subject matter is generally directed to matching a party with another party based on profiling of the parties for parameters that are relevant to making a match. In some embodiments, the inventive subject matter facilitates matches between searchers (e.g., consumers) and service providers based on assignment of searchers and service providers to predefined Buyer Types or Service Provider Types based on questionnaires, surveys, third party proxy ratings from, for example, yelp.com or citysearch.com, and other sources of data. This process includes, but may not be limited to the acquisition (“registration”) of sufficient data to profile a searcher (“project”) via a set of questions customized to be of relevance for a particular market of searchers (“channel”) in order to match them to one or more providers that may individually or collectively provide services in one or more vertical industries (“verticals”). In some embodiments, the inventive subject matter also contemplates creation of a set of leads based on varying degrees of matching between the searching party and the providing party. The set of leads may be used by a party to evaluate the possibility of entering into a transaction or relationship with the other party. In some embodiments, the inventive subject matter is directed to a system for valuing and monetizing a set of leads to offer to a party.
In some embodiments, Industry Capacity Profiles are created and used to match searchers to industry categories of potential interest. The searchers matched to an industry category may be further matched to service providers for the category.
In some embodiments, the inventive subject matter is directed to mobile applications for matching searchers with providers based on knowledge or awareness of the locations of the either or both parties.
In some embodiments, the inventive subject matter is directed to creating or updating a searcher's profile and/or presentation of advertisements and promotion to the searcher contextually based on the searcher's interaction with content on an electronic page, such as a web page.
While there are known systems for matching searchers in need of a good with a merchant providing the good, in the services sector, there is still a strong need for improved systems for more efficient matching. This is because the efficient matching of service providers involves many attributes that have a dynamic, fluxing nature. There are also subjective factors that a searcher and/or provider must express that must be classified and weighted for matching purposes. Accordingly, there is a significant need for matching systems that more efficiently process the dynamic, fluxing and subjective factors, and then corresponds them to or adjusts them for actual experience or other new information. Unfortunately, the current search systems largely only allow for factoring of binary, objective data. For example, “is the service provider located in the searchers geographical region.” There is need for a more flexible approach that allows for a service region not to be a binary screening factor, if, for example, there is real-world data of prompt and successful service to other searchers in the same region by a service provider who might not otherwise appear to be reasonably close to the region.
In addition, if there is a need for improved systems for registering users who wish to participate in a matching system and creating profiles for use in matching. Current technology implementations are not sufficient to satisfy the needs of efficient registration or profiling.
Accordingly there is substantial need for more sophisticated matching of parties, such as searchers and service providers, that leverages and is adaptive to dynamically changing data, varying attributes, and attribute weightings, and/or availability of new or supplemental, such as ratings, as well as searcher and provider preferences that are determined in progress.
Additionally there is a need for improved registration and profiling techniques that may be used in a system for efficient matching. There is also a need for systems and mobile applications that allow mobile service providers and searchers in geographical proximity to be matched so that service costs may be lowered because the service provider can save time and travel costs by concentrating service calls to a localized area. There are many other problems and needs addressed by the inventive subject matter disclosed herein.